What are you up to this weekend? Alex and I are going on a daytime date tomorrow. Maybe we’ll ride bikes, maybe we’ll have brunch, who knows?!! As Pilar Guzman once said, “Nothing like walking around on a Saturday to make you feel unencumbered. There’s a lot of pressure at night not to yawn.” Hope you have a good one, and here are a few fun links from around the web…

Says Megan on a fun birthday present: “For my mom’s 60th, my dad flew my husband, our six-month-old daughter and me to Kansas to surprise her. My sister picked us up at the airport, and we drove to my parents’ house. We put the baby, in her car seat, on the front steps, rang the bell and hid behind the bushes. I will never forget my heart pounding as I watched my mom open the front door at 9 p.m., and look around very confused, until she finally saw the baby. Then, of course, she burst into tears and we jumped out of the bushes yelling, ‘Surprise!’ It is a golden memory.”

Says Meg on the best parenting advice: “One evening, I was driving home with my three-year-old in the backseat. In the quiet car, my mind was racing with the worries of today and task lists of tomorrow. Suddenly he shrieked with delight, laughed and cheered with his arms above his head. Scared the crap out of me, at first! But then I realized we’d just gone through a tunnel on the freeway, and he thought it was the most thrilling thing that had ever happened to us. I spent the rest of the evening with gratitude in my heart for that little guy. It was many years ago now, and I still think of that moment often – reminding myself to look up to notice the good around us. Freeway tunnels, ice cream cones, hugs and all the rest.”

Says Allison on Nicole Bruno’s week of outfits: “Now Cup of Jo readers will forever recognize each other in public by our Nicole Bruno haircuts! It’ll be like a secret handshake. (I, too, showed this post to my hairstylist and promptly got an appointment on the books.)”

My husband and I don’t hold hands very often- but oh, holding hands with my children is the best thing ever! I used to love holding my father’s hand as we crossed busy streets with no crosswalks- now I hold my own children’s hands in mine. My six-year-old is totally unselfconscious about this- and it feels so natural. My older kids have moved away from the constant hand holding, but sometimes we still link up for a couple of minutes, and they grasp me firmly back.

omg, the erotica for feminists, lol! SOOOOOO TRUE! If every man understood how that works… well, there’d be world peace! And there would be the a new dawn in male sexual satisfaction! …not to mention women!

Oh my gosh. I posted my suggestions for a Valentine’s Dinner menu and I recommended this coeur à la crème recipe with roasted strawberry sauce (http://seasaltandsailorstripes.com/coeur-a-la-creme-with-roasted-strawberry-sauce/), so Ina and I are in the mood for the same dessert. I highly recommend the roasted strawberry sauce with a touch of black pepper. It’s addictive! Ina also has a savory version that I want to try.

We are currently on a surprise trip for my father in law’s 70th. My husband and mother in law organised the whole thing and my father in law had no clue. First, he was told that they were going away (somewhere hot and for 3 weeks so he could pack appropriately), then the location (South Africa), then that my sister in law was going (when they arrived in Johannesburg). He didn’t think his son and family were coming (we have a small baby and toddler), but we booked the same flight as them from Johannesburg and Cape Town. My FIL was sitting at the gate waiting for the plane to board, when my husband walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. He was so happy and emotional, seeing his son and grandchildren, it was a wonderful moment! Totally worth the overnight long haul flight with two babies

I loved the article on building with blocks! We have two little boys and we’ve amassed an impressive collection of building blocks. It’s so fun and relaxing to sit on the floor and build with them! Our latest creations have centered around various ways to capture/ house/ display our equally impressive collection of dinosaur figurines. :)

Any advice on where to stay in New York with kids? My little guys are the same age as yours (Jo), and we’ve been wanting to take them on a NYC trip. There are a ton of Airbnb and Kid and Coe places that look great, but it’s so hard to tell online! We’d love a cute walkable neighborhood with access to the more touristy stuff like the Statue of Liberty. Thanks!!

OMG when I clicked on the jeans you’ve been wearing all winter I immediately thought of my everlane boyfriend jeans that I’ve been wearing all winter so I got an excited “ME TOO!” when it linked me to the page. Then, the madewell sweater, was a ME TOO too. That was just too much. All the comfy things!

My favorite time to hold hands with my husband is in the car. We have our longest/most in-depth conversations there too, and holding hands as we talk grounds us and helps us remember we love each other even if we’re not seeing eye to eye on whatever we’re discussing.

I just have to say how much I love this blog. I look forward to your round up every Friday, and I also enjoy reading the comments so much. It actually gives me such hope that open-minded and kind-hearted people still exist after seeing so much negativity in the media. Thank you.

oh my gosh, amy, what a lovely thing to say. thank you so much. i’m really happy to have you here. xoxoxo

February 10, 2018 12:39pm /

Rachel says...

Have you guys seen the “Conception” series of video shorts that the NY Times is doing? I watched them last night and was captivated. They seem like something that Cup of Jo readers would like. Each one is a four or five minute video about a different woman’s journey to motherhood:

Those boyfriend jeans are the best jeans I’ve ever bought! It’s Australian summer here right now though and I’m curious about what shoes/socks you wear with them in New York winter. Will I need to get a new pair of jeans when it gets cold so my ankles don’t freeze? I’m a bit challenged when it comes to styling.

Haha, Allison’s comment is great! I remember the first time that Cup of Jo featured Gaby and she had a lovely haircut too, it happened the same thing! I went to my hairdresser too with a picture of Gaby, and we were talking and I reached to the conclusion that I want to be the girl on the picture that other girls take to their stylist, that would mean that finally I got the perfect haircut for me!
Have a good one too.
PS. The ‘whoosh’ every time the ballerinas do a turn is mesmerising.

The hand-holding article made me laugh. Husband and I are no Ina and Jeffery, but after 6 years of marriage, we still fall asleep holding hands and it’s the best feeling in the world. Count me on the pro-hand holding side!

Yes, too funny! I love how Hudson and the whole area are changing and becoming such a destination. Growing up there I never expected people to actually want to visit, but it really is such a beautiful, peaceful place. Thanks for highlighting it!

February 10, 2018 2:33pm /

Dana says...

I’ve been wearing the same sweater non stop this winter too. It’s so cozy and not itchy and I’m super sensitive to wools.

i’d recommend looking for an airbnb in the west village or central village (if you want to be downtown); or the upper west side (if you want to be uptown by museums and the park). if you want to be in brooklyn, fun neighborhoods are fort greene and williamsburg. good luck! xoxoxo

February 9, 2018 9:24pm /

Andrea says...

AirBnB in NYC is a fraught topic. There are serious questions about what it does to neighborhoods and the availability of affordable housing,

February 10, 2018 6:52am /

Joanna Goddard says...

Andrea, I think one difference to consider are the two types of airbnbs — 1) an apartment that is used ONLY for airbnbs, kind of like a hotel; 2) a home where people live full-time but they rent it out when they are out of town now and again. the first kind can be very damaging to the city, but the second kind is so helpful for everyone!

February 10, 2018 11:18am /

Gretchen says...

The ballet class is from Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg. They have been my instagram addiction this winter.
The girl in the middle is @Marachok (Maria Khoreva). She is in her final year at the academy and posts great videos on her own account weekly.

Would you by any chance have any recommendations of inexpensive but nice/bearable/decent hotels in Manhattan, now that the Larchmont is (sadly) closed? Also, yes, that Nicole Bruni haircut – how perfect is that????? So French-girl-looking, I love it.

good questino! i’d love to hear other people’s ideas, too. i’d recommend the jane hotel in the west village:https://www.thejanenyc.com/
they’re VERY small rooms but it’s in a charming downtown neighborhood, and the hotel has an awesome restaurant, old rose.

xoxo

February 9, 2018 9:23pm /

Sarah says...

Those ballerinas! So beautiful! Is it too late for me to be a ballerina when I grow up?

Sarah, I know someone who has three elementary age children and is a full time pediatrician and she decided that as she’d always wanted to be a ballerina she would take some classes! She joined some at my daughter’s dance studio and even performed at their recital. It made me cry. It was so lovely and brave and inspiring. I say it’s never too late if it makes you smile!

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